Jury splits Waffle House verdict: Not guilty of disorderly conduct but guilty of resisting arrest

A Mobile County jury split its verdicts Friday night in the trial of Chikesia Clemons, finding her not guilty of disorderly conduct but guilty of resisting arrest.

The jury in Judge Brandy Hambright’s courtroom was hearing the case a year and a half after an incident at the Saraland Waffle House in which Clemons, 26, was wrestled to the floor by officers after arguing with restaurant staff. She was found guilty last summer in municipal court after her arrest in the 2:30 a.m. incident April 22, 2018.

Clemons was not in court to hear the verdict because she was ill. Sentencing has not been set.

“We are pleased with a portion of the results,” said defense attorney Marcus Foxx. He said Clemons’ team will be filing an additional motion with the judge hoping to challenge the resisting arrest verdict.

The video of her arrest went nationally viral, showing her being wrangled to the floor by police officers. The Facebook video became a poster-child example for many of police brutality against women of color. Petitions pleading for the charges to be dropped were drafted up and national civil rights leaders came to show their support for Clemons.

It came down to one statement made by Clemons and the left arm she witheld from police to resist arrest. “If that’s not resisting arrest, then what is?,” prosecutor Jeff Perloff, attorney for the city of Saraland, asked the jury in closing statements.

The statement, “F--- you, I’ll come over that counter and beat your ass,” had to be considered “fighting words,” or words that elicited an immediate physical response from another individual. There were conflicting accounts of whether staff and customers heard her say that, but multiple witnesses said she did.

Selecting a jury took two days in the misdemeanor trial. The first bracket of jurors were “everything you want in a jury,” multiple ages, races, occupations, Foxx said. About 85-95 percent of the African American jurors were struck by the prosecution. That panel was thrown out, and the trial ended up taking a smaller jury.

“On a very savvy part of the judge, she researched and found that it is more likely to have less discriminatory strikes when you have fewer numbers,” Foxx said. The final jury consisted of one woman of color, and “we were still about to get a ‘not guilty.’ Sometimes the system works to a degree."

The shooting and the incident in Saraland took place on April 22, 2018, but the shooting occurred later that day.

The judge told the jury they were to regard that portion of testimonies as false.

Foxx said he respected the decision by the court. Perloff, the prosecutor, told AL.com that he does not think the issue impacted the jury’s decision.

Kanita Adams, a friend who was at the Waffle House with Clemons, testified on Friday to being a part of the first altercation with a waiter, Goldie Mincy, who testified on Thursday. Multiple witnesses told the court that Mincy and Adams started arguing without input from Clemons about a cup Adams brought into the restaurant. Matt Wright, another Waffle House employee on duty, said it was not unusual for Mincy to call the police on patrons or get in shouting matches.

The argument between Clemons and Mincy did not begin until Clemons asked for the Waffle House corporate office number to complain about service.

Once police were on the scene, multiple witnesses said, and video surveillance showed, that police officer Christopher Ramey, one of three officers that responded, walked straight to Clemons without pausing to assess the situation. There was concern, raised by Foxx, that Ramey’s personal relationship with Mincy influenced his actions that night.

Ramey said he heard both women yelling and gesturing at each other when he entered the restaurant and took action.

There was a struggle that left Clemons and Ramey on the floor of the Waffle House. Multiple witnesses said Clemons did not kick, punch or fight away from the police as she asked repeatedly, “What did I do? I don’t understand. You haven’t told me what I did.”